The Wilson gang is all smiles as we wrap up what has been a fantastic 2008 season. The highlight of the year was a report of a 52 inch hen salmon that made it safely to the barrier pool at Juniper , just knowing that this size of salmon is back to our rivers makes every cast on the water worth the effort . 2008 was a banner year for Wilson’s and I am sure this is the case for most anglers that fished salmon anywhere in Atlantic Canada . I asked a neighbor of mine yesterday how many fish he hooked this year , an incredible 105 hook-ups . All rivers are reporting increased numbers of Atlantic slamon . We had more than our share of high water this year with three big rises of over 3 feet , too much water at times for the best fishing but it kept the watershed saturated . Our fall season was a little tough with big water but all visitors to Wilson’s could not believe the shear number of salmon in the pools , and it was common to see fish in the 20 – 30 pound range just about every day . Cains River had high water as well and a good run of salmon came right on time . Sea-run brook trout on the Cains done very well this year with all the high water , not so good for anglers but excellent conditions to protect and feed the trout .
All in all 2008 was one of the best seasons in the past twenty and we are optomistic that this upward trend will continue . As always , we strongly encourage all readers to keep your memberships up to date in the Miramichi Salmon Association and the Atlantic Salmon Federation. Thanks to these two hard working organizations we are enjoying better fishing on all east coast salmon rivers .
PS> I will be off line for a few weeks as I head out for the deer season , I will be reporting back in 2009 . Thanks for reading our report , looking forward to 2009.

Well folks as you can see it sure is beautiful here this last few days of the 2008 season , but the fish are still not cooperating . The weather is gorgeous , the water is down to almost normal and we are seeing plenty of salmon , but they obviously have something on their mind besides chewing on a big green machine . It appears the same storey holds true for the Cains , most of the fall run is up there now and we are seeing a few fish in the upper headwaters actually working the redds a little . My only luck over the weekend was on a big purple mariboo ??

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of Oct 9th . The water is coming down very slow and we guess that it will remain higher than normal till the last day ( Oct 15th ) . We are seeing and hooking fewer fish than before the big raise but the fish we are hooking are some real beauties . In the last three days we landed four fish in the twenty pound range so that makes up for the lazy grilse for the moment . The weather is forecast to stay clear so we predict that as the water continues to drop we will have better fishing . There are reports of decent fishing on some parts of the lower Cains River but the upper watershed is still slow , they will show up as always , but sometimes not till after the close. The Cains actually needs another little raise to get the fish into the headwaters before the 15th . Big red/orange flys are working best .

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of October 2nd . Well folks we are flooded again , and with this raise coming on the heals of a 3 foot raise just a few days ago it will probably mean early next week before we see any resemblance of a normal river . Even with this big water we are seeing some monster salmon jumping , but of course we can’t get a fly over them at this stage . We fished the Cains today but it too is blown out , the water came up at least two feet by days end . The big rain and wind is a blessing for the upland hunters though and our weather forecast is for clear and cold for the next 10 days . Woodcock will begin moving better and of course hunters welcome the more open coverts as the leaves continue dropping .

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the McNamee area of the Miramichi River as of September 29th . Thank goodness we missed hurricane Kyle but we still got a 3 foot raise of water . Good news is that even though the water is high , it is still clean . We are lucky in the McNamee area with all the islands and long sloping bars from these areas that hold fish in these conditions . We were seeing a lot of fresh fish the last few days so the fall-run is on the move , so this raise can only help us . Anglers this morning are fishing mostly from the big canoes using slow sink of sinking tip lines with larger streamer patterns . The jumping fish that have been entertaining us for two weeks or more are still at it , and even in the same places , so the high water did not seem to change their habits yet . The high water will be perfect for the Cains , which we plan to take full advantage of in the coming days . Don’t despair anglers , this high water will only help us in the McNamee and Cains River areas .

Steve W. with the PWC group hooked into this monster on his first ever salmon fishing trip to the Miramichi River . He eventually lost the big salar but needless to say was more than thrilled with his trip . The boys had good fishing , mostly on one of Marcus’s creations , but standard fly patterns are doing the job too . The water is low but the fish are moving , so with the coming rain on the weekend we hope to get just enough water to bump it up a few inches , we don’t need a big raise at this stage in the game . All eyes are on the Cains to see what happens after the rain , based on reports from the lower Cains I think we may be in for some great action in there as well . PS: Expert guide Joe Stewart not only puts his man onto fish , he can also handle a camera . Correction: Steve did in fact land the big fish , and as quoted by Joe , “he done it like a pro “

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of September 24th . The last ten to twelve days has been fairly slow but still a fish or two per day on average were taken . The PWC group finished up at noon today with 15 fish landed . Things are steadily improving with reports of fresh-run salmon coming in on good water . The temperature is warming up over the next several days as well as rain due on Saturday , which will set the stage for great fishing . We are seeing many huge salmon , and expect these big boys to begin taking better soon . The coming rain will set us up for good fishing on the Cains as well .

Hello Keith,
First, Kerry and I want to thank you, Bonnie, Stacey, Ernie, Danny and staff for a first-rate salmon trip…….
Thanks to Danny’s instruction and teaching Kerry was able to handle a hookup and play and release a 12 pound salmon by herself………Danny was about 30 yards away with me when this occurred. During a period when the fish had “lockjaw” I think this was just awesome.
Second, I have been fortunate enough to fish at Iceland, Quebec, Labrador, etc for salmon and have never experienced a more welcoming and hospitable fishing lodge.
Finally, in regards to 2009 what availability do you have in late June and around the 2nd week of September?

Local Weather

Wilson's Miramichi Report for September 24. Ugghh! Still no rain and as you can see the river is extremely low and the fishing is as equally poor. We have rain forecast for mid week which should turn things on. Keep your fingers crossed for rain! … [Read More...]